HO 2x10 16 Inch Centers Joist Construction Jig for floor, roof and platforms

[darrylhuffman]

Before getting into how I built this simple set of jigs for loading platforms, let me show you three photos.

[darrylhuffman]

I ordered some HO scale 2 by 10, 16 inch centers jigs from www.rail.scale.models.com

These are the folks who took over some of Rusty Stumps items when Rusty Stumps retired.

Here is what the jig materials look like when they arrived:

[darrylhuffman]

I thought about how to use these items to make the construction of HO scale loading platforms easier and better looking.

I contacted scale-rail-models who sent me a suggestion sheet but it didn't seem to be helpful to me in what I wanted to use them for.

So I thought about it for a while and began building two easy to build jigs.

This is an easy one even project from start to finish, including experimentation and the final product as shown in the first three photos.

To begin, I glued 4 1/8th inch square pieces together to make a 1/4 by 1/4 block.

I held this block again the first jig and saw that it was good but not perfect.

It needed a 1/16 by 1/4th strip of basswood glued to the top to make the block 5/16th inches high and 1/4th inch wide.

Here is what this block looks like.

[darrylhuffman]

After you have built the block of wood you should glue it to the sides of the jig.

The length of the block should be slightly less than the length of the jib piece.

[darrylhuffman]

This photo shows the jigs glue to a piece of taskboard that is 1 inch wide

I have glued a second piece of taskboard to the back so that it acts as a block.

This keeps all the upright pieces in a line so that the finished product can be placed against a structure.



A few pieces of upright planks are in place so that you can see how it looks when using the jig.

[darrylhuffman]

I also realized that a block on the left hand end would be good to allow the second jig to be accurately placed.

This block is just some 1/8th square basswood.  Two small pieces and a longer third one on the top of the two smaller pieces.

[darrylhuffman]

This is a photo of how the jig looks at this point.

[darrylhuffman]

Cut your uprights and place them into the jig, one at a time.

Once you have the desired length, simply glue on 2 by 10 planks onto the top of the uprights.

[jerryrbeach]

Darryl,

That's a really nice looking fixture you designed.  I have some of the 2x laser cut jigs I bought from Rusty Stumps.  I'll be building a similar fixture based on what you built.  Thanks for sharing your idea with us.

[NEMMRRC]

Very clever.


Jaime

[darrylhuffman]

The next step was to simply glue the long strips of decking material, 2 by 10s, onto the uprights.

[darrylhuffman]

Thanks, Jaime, I have always built jigs for any kind of repetitive work.

The next thing is the second jig.

It is 6 inches by 4.25 inches and is basically built the same way.

[darrylhuffman]

Thanks Jerry.  The only real secret is to make sure all the jigs line up correctly.

In this photo you can see that I put 6 pieces of 2 by 10s into the larger jig, again making sure they are aligned on the edges.

[darrylhuffman]

I then spread a small puddle of white glue onto a piece of scrap plastic.

I then "dabbed" (up and down) the piece I had made earlier into the puddle of white glue and placed it onto the 6 longer strips and let dry.

I then cut and glued the upright "posts" in place and added some small angled pieces of 2 by 6 on the sides.

The loading dock is now finished.

[GPdemayo]

Great solution to the problem Darryl.....